TLC for tight, tender teats to minimise Strep uberis

One of the toughest mastitis problems for many farms is the occurrence of lots of infections around the time of calving. Mastitis caused by the environmental bacteria such as Strep uberis can ruin a promising new lactation for a fresh cow. Cows with clinical mastitis require treatment, and high cell count cows may make it hard to maintain premium Bulk Milk Cell Count levels.

We often discuss the need for good drying-off technique and clean, dry calving areas to minimise mastitis at calving but it is also very important to concentrate on what happens in the shed for the first few milkings. Strep uberis bacteria from soil may contaminate the teat skin surface out in the calving area, but many actually pass through the end of the teat during the milking process.

When freshly calved cows come into the shed, their teats are tight and tender. Teat skin is often dry (the last teat spray emollient was usually weeks ago) with extra dirt and manure around following calving.

If there was ever a time to take extra care with putting cups on clean, dry teats, this is it. For these few milkings, when the risk of new infection is highest, it is worth considering an extra investment in teat preparation.

And teats must become re-acclimatised to machine milking. As teats experience vacuum and pulsation again, their skin and canal lining respond by thickening and preparing to work harder. In the first few milkings of a new lactation it is also important to keep machine comfort factors high and vacuum levels to a minimum.

Spend a few minutes working out what changes would be needed in your shed to achieve cups on clean, dry teats and gentle milking for about eight milkings for every fresh cow.

Each farm will be different but some approaches which I have seen working include: planning to handle fresh cows as a separate mob (it would be ideal to milk them before the main herd at each milking when the equipment is at its cleanest); careful teat washing with a low-pressure hose and drying with a soft individual paper towel for each cow; using narrower bore liners for heifers.

To prevent infections there are two basic principles – minimise the number of bugs near the teat end, and maximise teat end health. Some special attention to detail at the first few milkings after calving for each cow – Tender Loving Care for teats in particular – gives the best start to lactation and increases the chance of a mastitis-free start to the new lactation.

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For the first 8 milkings after calving Countdown Downunder recommends that you:

• Allow extra time to bring fresh cows into the shed and milk them

• Consider manually washing teats to remove dirt and accustom cows to the milking routine

• Then dry teats before putting the cups on - using paper towel or one cloth per cow

• Check the foremilk strippings from all quarters for watery milk, clots or flecks

• Use a teat dip containing emollient, such as 10% glycerine, to condition the teat skin

• Ensure milk is not included in the vat

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Beware of test buckets for fresh cows, especially in high-line sheds

If you have a high-line shed and use a test bucket to milk fresh cows, you may be exposing teats to an excessive vacuum just when they least need it.

The milking vacuum in a high-line shed is typically set 5-10 kPa above average claw vacuum so that milk can be lifted to the milkline. When you set up a test bucket at or below the claw height, there is no need to lift milk, and the extra vacuum operates at the cluster. The higher vacuum can damage teat health. Tight and tender teats of freshly calved cows are especially vulnerable. 

It would be ideal to have some cheap and easy device to reduce vacuum which could be used, for example, in the milk hose between the milkline and test bucket – a vacuum-reducing valve of some sort. Here’s a challenge for those of you with an inventor bent: less than $100, and easy to use and clean. It would be a great candidate for a win in Darold’s tips at the National Milk Harvesting Centre.

Meanwhile, consider milking fresh cows as a separate group through the normal milking system (with the pipe out of the vat) rather than using the test bucket.  

The Countdown team: Bill Darmody

Bill Darmody is one of the stalwarts of Countdown Downunder. He’s been leading farmer and adviser training courses around the country.

Bill is a partner in the Moe Veterinary Clinic, but he took the long road to veterinary science. Brought up at Alexandra, in northeast Victoria, his early career included an Agricultural science diploma from Dookie, work on the family dairy farm, and instructing at Roseworthy.

Bill graduated in Veterinary Science from Murdoch in WA, and took his first veterinary job at Foster in 1980, moving to Moe in 1982.

Bill has a particular interest in residue management which led to a Churchill Fellowship, and the original Dairy First QA program for farms. Many factory programs have evolved from this work.

He says he can seen the impact of Countdown in his daily work, “Techs, vets and factory officers are starting to work better as a team to solve mastitis problems – giving consistent advice that’s easier to apply on the farm.”